“The Silkworm” Air Date Revealed, Plus Rowling Talks “Strike”

The first two episodes of Strike: A Cuckoo’s Calling have already aired in the UK, and with just the third episode to go, we’re deep in Strike territory at the moment and keen to immerse ourselves further in the detective’s world. We heard from the stars of the series, Tom Burke (Cormoran Strike) and Holliday Grainger (Robin Ellacott), earlier this month, and now Robert Galbraith, a.k.a. J.K. Rowling, has spoken a little more to BBC about the series.

We don’t know how many books are going to be in the series, but British detective series can often run for a long time (think Poirot or Sherlock Holmes, among many others), and Rowling has hinted that there will be many more than the seven that were originally suggested.

For Strike that was even more important because literally, the first time I met Tom, I said, ‘Well, I hope to God you do enjoy playing this character because I think I’ve got at least another 10 books in me, so you could be locked in for quite a few years here.’

What does Rowling think of Tom Burke in the role?

I’m thrilled. I’m really happy. He’s a fantastic actor, and he’s got all of the physicality of the part. It’s very important. The character’s obviously an amputee; it’s physically difficult at times for him to move, to walk, to navigate. All of that’s really in those scripts, and Tom does it amazing justice, and he’s extremely convincing, I think, as this wounded soldier.

She also spoke about Holliday Grainger’s take on Robin.

I love her; I just love her. I couldn’t have asked for better.

In some ways, she is Strike’s mirror image in that you’re looking here at someone who’s very loveable. She’s a kind person. I think it’s a difficult part to play in many ways. Again, because in the first series and in the first book, you don’t know. I hint at what lies beneath, but she seems like a very nice girl next door who comes in and is awfully helpful and kind, and slowly you realise just how much is bubbling under the surface.

Rowling reveals that BBC was keen to adapt The Cuckoo’s Calling for TV before they knew she was the author behind the story.

In fact, things became difficult quite quickly, because I was very lucky and the book was picked up. In fact, we had a call from the BBC, and they wanted to adapt it before they knew it was me. That presented Robert with his biggest problem! Which is a really nice problem to have, but things became difficult to sustain quite quickly.

You can watch an interview with Rowling below, which also includes some footage from the show and interviews with the director, Michael Keillor, and Tom Burke.

While not confirmed, it’s rumored that the next book in the series, Lethal White, will be released in 2018 (although no date has been announced yet). In the meantime, however, we’re excited to learn that the second part of the series, adapted from The Silkworm, will follow on from The Cuckoo’s Calling, airing September 10.

We’re delighted that we’re going to have more Strike in our lives! The first two parts of Strike: A Cuckoo’s Calling are available to watch on iPlayer, with the third part due to air this Sunday, September 3.

Have you been watching the series? Let us know your thoughts on the adaptation.